[Breast reduction surgery. County of Velje--a 12-year follow-up study]

A questionnaire investigation of 299 women treated operatively over a 12-year period for breast hypertrophy in four general surgical units is presented. Different surgical techniques were used, and in one of the departments one plastic surgeon performed the operations. The results of the different techniques were compared. All techniques gave good physical relief. Pers & Bretteville-Jensen's technique proved to be better in maintaining the sensitivity of the nipple, but a higher incidence of complications occurred. With McKissock's, Strömbeck's and Bames-Ragnell's techniques all scars end up looking like an anchor. These methods are preferred by most women, in spite of a higher risk of losing the sensitivity of the nipple. Significantly more women who had undergone reduction mammaplasty with the Pers & Bretteville-Jensen technique, which ends up with a horizontal scar across the breast, regretted the operation. The cosmetic results were very important for the patients, and a more uniform treatment of the patients might be preferred.